Reviews
Japanese Celebration Melodies
Junnosuke Uehara, Washu Yoneya & Kisaburo Umeya
Matsuri bayashi, the celebratory festival music of Japanese prefectures, provides the core for this album, albeit reimagined for a contemporary...
Reviewed by Keith Howard in issue: December/2023
Take to the Streets
Afrobeat creeps into so many heterogeneous mixes today that it’s refreshing to hear an unadulterated version. Conceived during the destabilising...
Reviewed by Mark Sampson in issue: December/2023
bié Records meets Shika Shika
This collab between Beijing-based label bié and Latin America-focused label Shika Shika is an energising alternative to the well worn...
Reviewed by Liam Izod in issue: December/2023
Kiği
Although he now lives in the Istanbul district of Gazi Mahallesi, an area popular with Alevi Kurds, Kiği is the...
Reviewed by Simon Broughton in issue: November/2023
Master of Bamboo Mouth Organ
The free reed bamboo mouth organ, the khaen or khene, is the iconic musical instrument of Laotians living in Isan...
Reviewed by John Clewley in issue: April/2024
I See a World
Fusing Scottish jigs and reels with influences from jazz, pop and techno, Peatbog Faeries’ music is often described as ‘high-octane.’...
Reviewed by Tony Gillam in issue: December/2023
Tengo un Mustang
Enrique Roberto Tellería was a wild non-conformist in 1960s Peru which sought to sanitise foreign youth music. His rare debut...
Reviewed by Mark Sampson in issue: November/2024
8 Sonneurs pour Philip Glass
Breton sonneur Keravec has long taken the bagpipes into new territories; no mean feat for an instrument so ancient. Early...
Reviewed by Michael Quinn in issue: November/2024
Trumpets of Michel-Ange
Long based in France, trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf was born in Lebanon and this is a tribute to his roots and...
Reviewed by Simon Broughton in issue: November/2024
Les Îles du Désert
Loy Ehrlich was one multi-instrumental third of France’s esteemed Hadouk Trio, whose co-founder and fellow ex-Gong member, Didier Malherbe, guests...
Reviewed by Mark Sampson in issue: November/2024
